Project Issues

1
Project Issues

• Network and Software Engineering Projects
  2003SMD147 and SMD155

2
This lecture

• Go through requirements, deliverables, and
  practicalities (all on the website)
• Why attend the optional lectures?
• Hints useful in executing your projects
• Common flaws and mistakes
• Examination (focuses)
• Lots of time for questions and discussions

3
General requirements 1(3)
Hint Appoint a project manager

• Contact person
• updated on project status on a weekly basis
• Project website
• contact information (project members
  supervisor(s))
• current contact person (must be available)
• project overview
• deliverables
• meeting minutes
• references, useful links, etc.

4
General requirements 2(3)
Hint The interaction with the supervisor is
crucial

• Opponent to another group
• Review documents
• Feedback on presentations
• Testing
• Communication, a responsibility of each group
• within the project, with the supervisor, with the
  opponent group, and with the examiner
• regarding progress, getting reviews, advice in
  major decisions, achieving sufficient results,
  etc.
• Keep track of work efforts individually

5
General requirements 3(3)

• Revision history
• version numbers (code and documentation)
• revision status (documentation)
• under revision
• approved by project group
• approved by opponent group
• approved by supervisor(s)
• approved by examiner
• Change logs (code and documentation)
• description and motivation of major changes

(obvious) Hint Use CVS
6
Required deliverables

• Website and Revision system
• Project plan
• Time and resource plan
• Requirement specification
• Design specification
• Test specification and plan
• Project poster and extended abstract
• Final project report
• Prototype

7
Required deliverables

• Website and Revision system
• Project plan
• Time and resource plan
• Requirement specification
• Design specification
• Test specification and plan
• Project poster and extended abstract
• Final project report
• Prototype

Planning Requirements Quality Testing
8
Required deliverables

• Website and Revision system
• Project plan
• Time and resource plan
• Requirement specification
• Design specification
• Test specification and plan
• Project poster and extended abstract
• Final project report
• Prototype

Implementation and test results
9
Required deliverables, cont.

• Project plan
• background (subject area and motivation)
• problem statement(s)
• objective(s)
• demarcation(s)
• description of activities and project phases
• Time and resource plan
• milestones and deliverables for defined
  activities
• persons responsible of each activity and
  deliverable
• participants in each activity
• (at least ) two implementation iterations

10
Required deliverables, cont.

• Requirement specification
• requirements must be measurable
• primary and optional requirements
• primary requirements must be met
• excluding optional requirement must be motivated
  and approved by the supervisor(s) (or by the
  examiner)
• Design specification
• complete system (modules and their respective
  function)
• e.g., class diagrams, module diagrams
• system usage and interactions between modules
• e.g., based on use cases, interaction diagrams,
  state charts

11
Required deliverables, cont.

• Test specification and plan
• test cases shall describe which modules they
  involve and the tested usage of them (including
  test setup)
• when applicable, test cases shall refer to
  related requirement(s) (and be designed to
  validate whether the req. in question is met or
  not)
• expected results (complemented with outcome after
  tests have been made)

Hint Have different persons writing the design
specification, the requirement specification and
the test specification
12
Required deliverables, cont.

• Project poster and extended abstract
• brief overview of the project (including
  background, objectives, and results).
• presented at the CSEE conference in May (date
  not yet decided)
• Multiple purposes handout, executive summary,
  appendix to CV, etc.
• Prototype
• Appropriately demonstrated for each projects
  supervisor(s) and other interested people (the
  forms and place for this will differ between
  projects)

13
Final project report

• Project plan
• present work effort needed for each individual
  activity and compare with the resource allocation
  made
• Requirement specification
• possible updated with additional requirements
• excluded or superseded requirements must be
  presented
• Final design
• comment on changes made to the initial design
• Implementation
• key issues, known bugs, logging of warnings, and
  errors, etc.

14
Final project report, cont.

• Test descriptions and results
• detailed comments on unexpected outcomes and
  actions taken given such outcome
• Major findings and conclusions
• e.g., performance, scalability, and extensibility
• Further work and recommendations
• information to someone that will continue your
  work (e.g., extend the system developed or make
  it a product)
• References (to all relevant standards, products,
  etc.)
• also, remember that statements made MUST be
  supported by one or more references, presented
  results, or (at least) with a reasonable
  motivation

15
Final project report, cont.

• User manual and reference manual
• only if requested by the supervisor
• do not need to be in the report though
• place in appendix, or in separate document(s)
• such text will not be explicitly examined
• In general
• try to keep the report short
• must be complete (include all relevant
  information)
• sufficient presentation is VERY important

16
Common flaws and mistakes

• Making bad priorities
• Hint Think through what need to be done in the
  first implementation iteration and what can be
  done in the second (or third) iteration
• Lack of parallel work
• Hint Plan so that as many activities as possible
  can be done in parallel
• Failing communication
• Hint Discuss (potential) problems immediately
  with your supervisor (and/or examiner) (e.g.,
  being behind schedule)

17
Examination (focuses)

• Fulfill the defined requirements (obvious)
• Main focus is on the final report
• expect several revisions
• incomplete and unfinished reports will not be
  considered by the examiner
• The supervisors(s) opinion(s) will be
  considered
• Deliver a complete and working system
• projects failing in this may still be approved
  though (given that the project group can offer an
  acceptable explanation for why the project cannot
  be finished)
• your code is a deliverable!!!

Hint Start small
18
Questions

• Deliverables?
• The role of being
• Examiner
• Supervisor
• Opponent
• Project member
• Something else?